Founded in 1888, Royal Portrush Golf Club is synonymous with golf in Ireland. It has hosted a number of major events over the years, including the Irish Open. Royal Portrush also hosted the first Open Championship played outside of Great Britain in 1951, won by Englishman Max Faulkner. The Open Championship was held at Royal Portrush again in 2019, when Shane Lowry became the first and only Irishman to win the Open in Ireland.
Home to two 18-hole links courses and with the Antrim coast as its backdrop, every game played at Royal Portrush Golf Club feels like a momentous occasion. Golfers looking to test their skills need look no further than Royal Portrush’s famed Dunluce Links, which gets its name from the ruins of Dunluce Castle, visible from the fifth hole.
This magnificent course features a number of challenging holes, not least the par three 16th, “Calamity Corner,” which measures a mere 236 yards, the ruination of many a score card almost home. Calamity is infamous for the ravine that lies between the tee and the green.
The other Royal Portrush golf course is the Valley Links. Though this course is shorter and more forgiving than the Dunluce Links, it should not be overlooked by those looking to experience Royal Portrush to the fullest. Highlights include views of the Skerries, a small group of rocky islands just off the coast, and of the birthplace of North of Ireland Irish golfer Fred Daly.